The invention relates generally to workpiece motion guides and, more particularly, to featherboards.
Many cutting machines, in particular woodworking machines, have a table which supports a workpiece, and a fence extending upwardly from the table. The workpiece is held against and pushed along the fence past a cutting tool, such as a saw blade. Typically, motion of the workpiece is imparted in whole or in part by hand.
For guiding the motion of the workpiece, such as a piece of wood, as the workpiece is fed into the cutter of a cutting machine such as a table saw, band saw, router table or shaper, a variety of motion guides are known in the art. Common motion guides include various spring-loaded hold downs, as well as featherboards.
Such motion control can include imparting a force which urges the workpiece down against the table, and imparting another force which urges the workpiece horizontally against the fence, independently of manual guiding or pushing of the workpiece. Motion guides also serve the function of minimizing the effect of kickback, which can occur when the workpiece binds to the blade of a table saw.
Prior art featherboards include a plurality of diagonally angled flexible fingers, or “feathers” that, depending upon the mounting orientation of the featherboard, urge the workpiece either tightly against the fence in the case of a featherboard oriented horizontally and mounted to the table, or tightly against the table top in the case of a featherboard oriented vertically and mounted to the fence. A plurality of featherboards, at least one mounted to the fence and oriented vertically and at least one mounted to the table and oriented horizontally, may be employed in combination so as to urge a workpiece both against the table and against the fence.